So I have to admit...I listened to this song for years before it dawned on me to question what it was about. This former number one hit was originally performed by a band called the Knack. It has been covered by many different bands and individuals including the World Class Rockers, the Glee television cast, and the Chipmunks.
I would be breaking character if I failed to mention that the song was also covered by the bullies on the Simpsons.
So what is it about? What is a sharona? Can it be consumed or smoked? Those are all great questions, and the answer is...what are you...sick or something? The song My Sharona is written about a girl.
The Knack lead singer Doug Fieger wrote the lyrics to this song, which is about a girl he was interested in. Doug was in a long-term relationship when he walked into a clothing store where a high school student named Sharona Alperin (who was dating another boy), was working. The age difference (he was about eight years older) and her relationship status didn't deter Fieger, who was immediately infatuated with her. While his current girlfriend watched, he invited Sharona to a show. Not long after, he broke up with the girlfriend and said he loved Sharona, creating a weird situation where he would come on to her even though she had a boyfriend who often attended Knack concerts with her. It got pretty unusual when Fieger started writing songs about her - they weren't together when he composed "My Sharona."
About a year after they first met, Sharona gave in and they started dating. She joined the band on tour and watched as the song Fieger wrote about her shot the band to stardom. The couple were together for about four years (and engaged at one point) before the rock and roll lifestyle and Fieger's alcoholism became too much for Sharona, and they called it off. In the aftermath, Sharona answered questions about the breakup by saying that she needed to become her own Sharona, not someone else's.
After a cooling off period, Alperin and Fieger became friends. Alperin was with Fieger the last week of his life; he died of cancer on February 14, 2010.
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| Sharona Alperin present and past |
So that is the story of the song. It has nothing to do with February 16. I just heard the song and thought I would research it a little. Now that I know what it is about I will write a parody of it for my beautiful wife, who is my personal Sharona!
Thanks Mr. Hot Cocoa. You filled a gap in my musical knowledge. I stopped listening to new music around 1975. I foolishly thought all the great music had been created in the 50s and 60s.
ReplyDeleteAn elderly wedding dj once told me she had to revise her playlist every ten years to keep current with the music the wedding party had grown up with.
Sharona by the way went into real estate in LA. Doug Fieger died on Valentines Day, 2010. He was 57.
So, you started listening to this song when you were nine or so, and then by the time you had entered puberty, you sort of had an idea what this song could be about . . . Ontario has that effect on people, I hear.
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